This proposal seeks continued support for research in computer medicine at the Beth Israel Hospital. This research was begun when projects previously directed independently by Dr. Warner Slack at the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Howard Bleich at the Beth Israel Hospital were united and when the increased productivity that would result from close collaboration became apparent. The goal of the research is to test the hypothesis that computer programs can favorably influence the cost, quality, and availability of medical care. Support is being requested for projects within three distinct but interrelated areas: 1. Interactive consultation programming: Logic of medical decision making and mechanisms of collecting, validating, and organizing a data base. 2. An automated comparator for diagnostic radiology. 3. Computer-based management of important medical problems; the computer as a patient's assistant. These projects are closely related. They will benefit from principles derived within our laboratory dealing with the psychology of man-machine interaction and from the application of specific program segments that constitute the "drivers" and file searching programs used by the computer. It is also hoped that these projects will be sufficiently successful to spawn additional projects utilizing the same techniques. Finally, although the thrust of the proposed research is fundamental, the long range goal of each specific project is pragmatic: in our view the results of research in computer medicine are more likely to be useful if issues of feasibility (including cost) are considered from the outset.